Hi, There, Stampers!
Last week as I was trying to get the last of my Valentine Cards done, I stumbled onto a really old pattern. I can’t remember the specific date, but it was sometime in 2010. At that point I’d only be a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator for 2 years, and I was trying all kinds of things. One thing I should have tried was to write tutorials back then. While I may have a small error (or 2?) in current tutorials, the old tutorial for this project was even hard for me to follow.
It Was Called a “Faux Pinwheel”
The pinwheel is “faux” because it kind of looks like a pinwheel shape (or it would have if I’d not glued all the pieces down) when it’s finished. About that glue. I didn’t realize when I added some Mini Glue Dots to the edges of the squares that I was taking the “pinwheel” part away from the design. Nonetheless, I like the look. Maybe later this month I’ll try it again without it being a Valentine.
Some Simple Directions
Basically, you cut 1-1/4″ squares out of Designer Series Paper – 4 each of two prints. For my project I used the Country Floral Lane Designer Series Paper (it’s almost used up!) Then you cut two pieces of coordinating cardstock 2-5/8″ square (Sweet Sorbet here). Adhere the four squares from one print onto one of the cardstock squares. Using the adhesive is the trick. Adhere the first square in the upper left corner of the cardstock applying adhesive ONLY to the top of the paper square. Then turn the cardstock 45 degrees and repeat. Do that twice more and the first layer of squares is done.
In the next step, take the first of the other paper squares, hold it diagonally and apply adhesive from the top to the bottom corner. Arrange the square with the first papers so that one edge is at the top. Then slip the new paper square with the adhesive under the free sides of the first square on the right and press down. Turn the big square 45 degrees and repeat all the way around.
The final step is to take the second cardstock square and adhere it under the first cardstock so that it acts as a mat to the second set of squares. This is where it gets tricky. If you’ve not placed the second set of squares perfectly, you’ll not end up with a square that lines up with that second square of cardstock. And this is where my tutorial was lacking.
I’m sure that a lot of my readers are pretty good paper-crafters, so you can figure this out. But I hope that new paper crafters use my tutorials, too. So I’m going to work on a revision (are there enough hours in the day?).
Another Sample
This is the second card like this that I made. I tried a little harder to get those squares all lined up in this one. But I was working so hard on the squares that I forgot to look at the direction of the hearts in my background layer. But, hey. Maybe whoever I send this card to will think it’s a design thing. One can only hope.
Just Two More Days!
I have a quick and easy Valentine card ready for tomorrow. Yes, with all the Valentine Cards I made, I was still short a couple. Stay tuned!
Happy Stamping!
